Phase II IUCRC at University of Hawaii: Center for Electromagnetic Compatibility (CEMC); University of Hawaii in Electromagnetic Technologies

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Electromagnetics (EM) technologies have been a backbone for monumental global economic growth and development in numerous key industries with applications in communications, radar, space exploration, remote sensing, biomedical diagnosis, and environmental monitoring. Advances in EM have enabled phenomenal growth in wireless technologies with more recent applications in mobile biomedical monitoring/diagnosis, Internet of Things, and smart grids. The University of Hawaii has a long standing distinguished research reputation in the area of communications, with recent expansion of research activities in the broader area of wireless technologies. Available laboratory facilities include wireless testbed, indoor antenna range, multiple microwave network analysis laboratories, and a physical electronics lab for device fabrication and characterization. With this project, the University of Hawaii Team will be joining the highly successful Phase II IUCRC Center for Electromagnetic Compatibility (CEMC) at Missouri S&T and the University of Houston. The University of Hawaii EM technologies site brings research innovation and laboratory facilities that complement ongoing activities in CEMC. Together, the joint CEMC will provide broader EM expertise and will be able to address a wide range of projects with applications in national defense, smart communities and healthcare, smart grids, and in the Internet of Things research and applications. The University of Hawaii IUCRC site has several faculty members, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, working on a variety of EM-based projects. Example projects include advanced antenna arrays design with beam steering and beamforming capabilities, reconfigurable RF devices, liquid metals, Terahertz sensors, metamaterials/smart materials technologies, propagation modeling, and RF sensors for remote biomedical and environmental monitoring applications. Digital signal processing, advanced optimization, and reinforcement learning algorithms have also been collaboratively integrated in EM research projects to provide affordable and reliable wireless access in rural areas, noninvasive and remote monitoring of vital signs and changes in lung water content, and in the monitoring, control, and optimization of future smart grids with large penetration of distributed renewable energy sources. Besides the significant research benefits from the collaborative and expanded capabilities of the joint center, the Hawaii site of CEMC will also have a significant impact on developing a highly qualified workforce with EM expertise for both the military and commercial sectors. The joint teams intend to exchange distance learning courses to enrich and grow their graduate programs. The Hawaii experience with STEM education and the NSF RET program will also be enriched through this collaboration between the three participating universities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.